Crash
by Axellia
Summary: Eric has been in an accident, and in the process of finding out what happened, the team unearth a kidnapping. CSI Cheryl Part 3 [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings, and welcome to the third enstallment of the 'CSI Cheryl' Series. PArt one and two have been posted, if you want to hunt them out and have a read. (Lost Son and Evidence) It might help understand the characters up until now.**

**I suppose I should stick in a disclaimmer, although I would have thought it was obvious this was a fanfic and I don't own this. But on the off chance someone wants to sue me... I own nothing that can be found in any of the CSIs. Just my own characters. (Only kidding.. CSI is mine, all mine!)**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl was sat on the beach, soaking in the sun. It was one of the rare days she had off and she was making the most of it. She had spent the morning exploring downtown Miami and getting her hair cut. She'd been in the city for a little over eight months now and she still hadn't explored much of it. She hadn't had much free time, either. Instead, she had been busy solving a various array of crimes, and if she wasn't doing that, she was busy putting her finishing touches to a new procedure she'd discovered which would make it possible for GSR to be matched to the weapon it was fired from.

She leant over and rummaged in her bag, looking for her 'phone to check the time. It was already 4pm, and she was supposed to be meeting her uncle in half an hour. She grabbed her things, pulled on a white skirt and flip flops, leaving her white halter-neck bikini as it was, and hurried off to her car.

She jumped in the big, black Hummer and drove off to the small restaurant where they were to meet. Unsurprisingly, she made it on time. She was a good driver, although she was pushing her speed to the limits of legal, and could get the Hummer in places and gaps most would think were impossible.

Cheryl walked into the restaurant and scanned the heads at the tables. She spotted a head of red-blonde hair and headed over to it, sitting down opposite. 'Afternoon, Cheryl,' said Horatio Caine, her boss at the Miami Dade Crime Lab, and her uncle. Cheryl had found out that they were related on her first case, and although, at first, she had been reluctant to accept the fact they were related, thanks to a lot of pushing from her good friend, and co-worker, Tim Speedle, they were finally acting like a family.

'You cut your hair.'

Cheryl smiled, of course he would notice. She wouldn't have expected any less from a CSI. 'Hi, Horatio. Glad you could make it.'

'You know I'd make the time for you.'

'How's Raymond Jr and Madison?' Both were her half-siblings, although each had a different mother. Raymond's was actually a detective she frequently worked with, and Madison's was a girl whom her father had had an affair with whilst he was undercover. Turned out her father actually got around a bit.

'They're good. They both want to know when you're going to visit again.'

Cheryl chuckled. Kids loved her, and in this case, she loved these as well. Raymond was a little monkey, and Madison was a quiet little girl. Unfortunately, neither had met each other. Yelina, Raymond Jr's mother, and Raymond Snr's widow was completely unaware that her son had two half-siblings, and had even been led to believe that Madison was Horatio's. She even believed that Horatio was Cheryl's father, and things betweenHoratio and Yelina now were strained.Suzie, Madison's mother, on the other hand, knew about both Cheryl and Raymond Jr, although she also knew that Yelina didn't, and was alright about the situation. She let Cheryl visit the child whenever she had the time, although recently, that was getting harder.

'You know me, I'm always busy.'

'How is Speed these days?'

Cheryl scowled at him, over the drinks the waitress had left for them. 'Horatio, there is nothing going on between me and Tim.'

'And where have you been staying for the past couple of days?'

Admittedly, she had been at his, but she hadn't done anything more than actually sleep with him, 'it is possible for two people to be friends and not have sex, you know.'

'I know, but I can also see that he loves you very much, and I don't want either of you getting hurt. And there's also the fact he's eight years older than you.'

'Horatio, everyone's older than me.' At twenty-three, she was the youngest CSI 3 in Florida, and quite possibly America too.

'I know.' He smiled. He was immensely proud of his niece. 'How is that procedure of yours going?'

'It's done, and it works. I sent it off to the various places it needs to go so it can get verified so that the procedure will actually hold up in Court. But from what I can gather, it's getting the green light so far.'

'What have you called it?'

'You wont believe me if I told you.'

Horatio smiled, 'try me.'

'Well, I was considering it for ages, and decided to use my surname, but I double barrelled it to Carter-Caine.' She looked over to Horatio. His smiled had widened. 'But the computer saved it as C'caine.'

'Cocaine?'

'That's exactly how it was said to me down the phone by four separate people.' Chuckled Cheryl. 'It's goofy, but I kind of like it. At least that way, I remain semi-anonymous.'

'You won't be after you've made it in the journals and newspapers. Cheryl, it's probably going to be one of the best forensic break-throughs of the past twenty years. And then you're going to have to go to seminars and present.'

'There is no chance that's going to happen. The public don't take me seriously at a crime scene, so I don't see how a roomful of scientists are going to believe that a twenty-three year old is capable of it. Besides, there is nothing that I would hate more than getting up in front of a roomful of people. So I made an idiot-proof video explaining the procedure and how to use the chemicals and interpreting the results.'

She was going to say something else, but was interrupted by a loud bleeping. She looked down at her phone to read the message, before looking across at Horatio, he was doing the same thing with his. He looked up to meet her gaze and nodded. 'This is why I never get a day to myself,' she sighed.

'You never get a day to yourself because you are always at the lab, and they beep you because you're a good CSI.'

'More like they just don't want me to have a good time,' she grumbled as she threw down a few notes to cover the drink and followed Horatio out of the restaurant.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl hopped out of her Hummer at the location she'd been sent to, having changed her skirt for a pair of trousers and her flip flops for a pair of boots. She'd also pulled a longer top over her bikini and scraped her hair back into a ponytail. She went straight to the trunk and pulled it open, grabbing her kit. And then she turned around to deal with the RTA she'd been called out to deal with. She ducked under the crime scene tape and headed over to the car, dodging around the ERT who were running about with various cutting equipment.

Her heart stopped. The RTA vehicle was a Hummer. A crime lab Hummer. A Miami-Dade Crime Lab Hummer. It had somehow veered off the road, rolled over at least once, and was now wedged against a tree.

She dropped her kit, not noticing the chinking sound from something being broken inside it, and ran over to the door, anxious to see who it was in the car. At first, she couldn't make out his face as it was both turned from view, and covered in blood, but then, as he was pulled from the wreckage, his head was turned.

'Eric!' She ran over to him, 'is he alright?' She asked the first EMS she reached.

'Ma'am, we need to take him to the hospital.' She was told, as an officer grabbed her around the waist.

'Let me go! I'm with the Crime Lab,' she told him as she grabbed her badge and ID and flashed them at him, 'he's one of us.' The officer let her go and she jumped in the back of the ambulance. The door slammed shut behind her and it set off.

Cheryl sat to one side watching them work on him. She pulled out her phone, found the number she was looking for and hit dial.

"Caine.'

'Horatio, it's Cheryl. The RTA I was called out to. It's Eric.'

'I know Cheryl, I just go here. Where are you? I see your car, and your kit.'

'I'm with Eric, en route to the hospital,' she told him, as the ambulance conveniently put its sirens on.

'Stay with him, Cheryl. We'll be there as soon as possible. Let me know the second you know something.'

'I will.' She flipped her phone shut and hung up.

'You know, you shouldn't be using a cell in here.' The paramedic shouted over to her.

'I know, but I had to. I'm sorry.'

'It's ok. I've worked with Delko before. He's a good guy.'

'Is he going to be ok?'

"I think so, but we'll know more at the hospital.'

And then the alarms went off on the machine he was hooked up to. 'He's crashing!' the medic shouted to the driver.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Part two should be up soon!**

**So, you've taken the time to read this.(Thank you!)Fancy using an extra couple of minutes to click on the button and leave a review for me? Go on, it makes my day! **


	2. Chapter 2

**So, here's chapter 2 for y'all. Thank you all, for the reviews and the reads. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am writing it! And, there's the 'guest appearence' of a familiar face. It seems a little corny, I know, but, it will make a bit more sense in the long run of this... epic.**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl was pacing up and down the floor of the ER waiting room, slowly wearing the linoleum down in an attempt to seem… less anxious. The short ride to the hospital had been the worst thing she'd experienced in a long time. After Eric crashed, the rest of the trip seemed to go by in slow motion. She'd been at the wrong end of a gun before, but that journey was up there with one of her scariest events experienced. Thankfully, the medic knew what he was doing, and managed to stabilise him, although Eric had crashed again whilst entering the ER. And now? Cheryl didn't have a clue. She'd lost track of the time, whilst pacing, and all she was aware of was that it was getting dark outside.

Finally, a doctor appeared. She hurried over to him, 'What's up, doc?' Any other day, she would have seen the humor in that phrase, but not today.

'Are you family?'

'No, but-'

'I'm sorry, miss, but I cannot divulge any information about the patient unless you are a family member.'

Cheryl glared at him, before pulling out her badge. 'Detective Cheryl Carter, with the Miami Dade Crime Lab. And that _patient_ is not only a colleague, but he's a witness to an attempted murder.'

'An attempted murder?'

'Do you know how hard it is to destroy a Hummer to the degree he did? Now don't make me go get a warrant for this information.'

The doctor frowned, 'he has suffered from a few broken bones, and some major internal bleeding, but he's stable.'

'Can I see him?'

'He's not conscious yet.'

'And that bothers me how?'

The doctor frowned again, and let her into the room. 'You have five minutes, and then I'm calling your superior.'

'Deal.' Cheryl walked over to the bed. Strangely, Eric was in the same room Speed had been, all those months ago. But Speed had never looked as lost in the bed as Eric currently did. Despite his height, Eric was drowned in tubes, monitors and, Cheryl shuddered, needles.

She dropped down onto a chair next to him, 'Ey up, chuck,' she greeted the still body, 'I'm impressed. You managed to roll a Hummer. Not many people can do that. Don't worry about anything other than getting better. I'll find out what happened, and my God, you know the rest of the team are going to.' She looked at the variouslimbs that were bandaged up. 'And just think, you're going to get that time off you keep asking for.'

The doctor appeared in the door, 'time's up,' he stated, as though he was expecting a fight.

Cheryl got up, kissed Eric on the forehead, and left the room. She turned to the doctor and handed him her card, 'this is my number. Please call me if _anything_ changes. He may not be my biological family,' she added when he looked like he was going to object, 'but he's part of the only family I have, and that means a lot. _And,_ if nothing else, he is a witness, and a victim.'

The doctor nodded. In the five minutes he had asked a few colleagues about her, and her reputation had preceded her. She was the one who hated needles, and wasn't afraid to show it. Frankly, he didn't need a black eye.

Cheryl turned and headed outside, flipping her phone open as she left the building.

'Caine.'

'Horatio, it's Cheryl. Eric's… Eric's fine. He's still unconscious though, but the doctor said he'll.' She stopped and took a deep breath. 'Where do you want me?'

'I'm sending a squad car to pick you up. Come back to the lab. Calleigh is working on IDing the other car that was involved in the accident, and I think you'll help speed that up.'

'There was another car then?'

'Tire treads give us the indication there was someone else there.'

'Tell her to focus on anything bigger than an SUV. There is no way anything smaller would be able to run a Hummer off the road.'

'Okay. The car is on the way.'

Cheryl flipped the phone shut and sat down to wait. She didn't have to wait long for a patrol car to appear. She opened the door and got in, 'hey,' she greeted the car's sole occupant.

'Hello,' he replied. 'So, how is he?'

Cheryl looked over at the officer. He looked a little uncomfortable, as though he wasn't sure whether he should be asking or not.

'He is going to be fine,' she told him, trying to reassure herself at the same time.

'Do you know what happened yet?'

'That's what I'm going to help do now,' she shook her head.

'You're job seems interesting.'

'We haven't met before, have we?' She asked him, cocking her head.

'No, ma'am.'

'Cheryl. Cheryl Carter.'

'Ryan Wolfe.'

'Well, Officer Wolfe,' she looked out of the window, 'the job can be rewarding. A bit like doing a jigsaw for adults. But it can be hard as hell, too.'

'Yes, ma'am,' he agreed.

'Ugh, please. You're older than I am, so less of the ma'am.'

'Sorry,' he apologised, 'I guess you hear this a lot, but aren't you a little young to be doing this?'

'Yes, I do hear this, a lot. But what can I say? I'm a big kid who likes the puzzles.' She looked over at him, 'do you know what the most important thing for the first officer at a crime scene is?' She asked, changing the subject.

'To secure it?'

'Bingo. Make sure it's secure, without disturbing anything unless necessary. Take good notes, in case the CSI needs it later.'

The car pulled up outside the Crime Lab. 'I'll remember that. And good luck finding out what happened.'

'Thank you, Officer Wolfe, and thank you for the lift. No doubt I'll see you around.' She got out of the car and hurried into the building.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'What have we got, Calleigh?' asked Cheryl, pulling up a seat next to the fidgeting blonde, sat at the computer. She looked like she had been crying.

'The wheel base matches that of a H2, and the paint transfer on the one Eric was driving matches the Lab's Hummers.'

Cheryl's head snapped round to look at Calleigh. 'It wasn't one of ours?'

'No,' reassured Calleigh, 'Speed has checked them, and they've all been accounted for.'

'And I realise this is probably a stupid question, considering, but have any been reported stolen?'

'None.'

'And have any been reported in an RTA?'

'One, but it was blue.'

'Okay, so where are we on this?'

'Well, according to the DMV, there are one hundred and sixty eight Hummers registered in the Miami area.'

'Strangely, that doesn't surprise me. So how many are Desert Sand?'

'Thirty two.'

'But the crime lab owns nine of them, which leaves us with twenty three possibilities.'

'Is there any way you can track their routes, like with that thing you have on your Hummer?'

Cheryl shook her head. 'I wish. The GPS system on mine was added by me. They don't come standard. Besides, you would need the code to track it.'

'Well, surely a Hummer has a GPS tracking system in them? They're expensive cars.'

'They do, but they are the kind that track the current position, not the routes. And even if they were to, you'd need a warrant as we don't know _which_ Hummer was involved.'

'Well, where does that leave us?' Cheryl turned around to find Tim stood in the door. 'I've been over that Hummer twice, and there is nothing, other than the paint transfer.'

'That leaves us with nothing, unless something comes in about a Hummer.' Said Calleigh.

'Perhaps we are looking at this all wrong.' Said Cheryl.

'What do you mean?' Asked Speed.

'Perhaps to find who, we need to know why.'

'That doesn't make much sense.'

'Well, who would want to hurt Eric?'

'To be fair, Cheryl, he's a CSI, so pretty much anyone he has helped lock up.'

'Exactly. So, start there. If the owner of the Hummer hasn't reported it stolen, then perhaps he owns it. How many people that he's put away are rich enough to own Hummers, or have connections to people who could afford them?'

'Cheryl, this is Miami,' said Speed, 'that could be a long list.'

'Cross reference the twenty three hummers with either parolees, recently arrested and released, or family members of said people.'

'Well, we don't seem to have anything else to go on,' agreed Calleigh.

'Okay, well, if you need me, give me a buzz. I'll be in the AV lab.'

'You're not going to help?'

'It doesn't take three of us. Besides, you'd much rather be doing this, than what I'm about to be doing.'

'And that is?'

'I'm checking all the footage from the tolls on that road. The other Hummer had to get on somewhere.'

'Do you know how many cameras there are? And there are none for a few miles either way. Who's to say he didn't get on, or off, anywhere else?'

'Hey, Calleigh, it's a longshot, but at least it's an idea.'

Cheryl walked out of the lab and towards the AV lab.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A couple of hours later, and Cheryl's eyes were going funny from staring at a computer screen for so long.She had found Dan, and he had managed to pull the surveillance tapes of the tolls, and the two of them had been watching cars go through in fast forward for ages.

'I have no idea how you can do this all the time. Don't your eyes hurt.'

'You get used to it.' Dan told her. 'Hey, I think I've got something.'

Cheryl wheeled her chair over. 'It's definately the right colour.' She peered at the screen. 'Can you zoom in on the front passenger side?'

'No problem.' He pressed a few buttons and zoomed in. The pixels came into focus to show the car had recently been in a collision of some kind.

'I think you may have found it. Can you get me the lisence?'

Dan nodded, hit a few more buttongs on his keyboard, and pulled up the lisence. Cheryl wheeled herself to another computer and began to run the numbers. After a few more minutes, the computer flashed up a name and lisence. 'Michael Christopher Rollins.'She turned to Dan, 'is there a reason why that name sounds so familiar?'

'Yeah, I should think so. Michael's father is the Mayor of Miami.'

'Oh crap.I really hope we have the wrong car, otherwise, this is going to get interesting.' She pulled out her phone and dialed Horatio'e number. "Hey, Horatio, I think we may have something. And I'm not sure if that's good news, or not. Can you get to the AV lab, asap?'

* * *

**Well, again, thank you for reading! I hope to have the third chapter up before thanksgiving... I'm off to Texas, for some bizarre reason (involving students and alcohol!) so I don't know if i'll either have the internet access, the time, or the soberness needed to post, but the laptop is going with me, so maybe when my friends are trying to sleep off their hangovers, I might get something done.**

**Go on, make my day, leave a review. As my friend said, if you've taken the time to read it, go on and spend a couple of extra seconds to tell me what you think! It honestly makes me happy! x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Being as I'm in a rather happy mood, I'm going to dedicated this chapter to all my reviewers! Thank you for reading, and sticking with me on this!**

* * *

After filling Horatio in on the Hummer's owner, he had decided that the best course of action would be to visit the Mayor in person, rather than sending out someone else. They had stopped by the lab to get Speed (Calleigh wasn't really in a fit state to be talking to the Mayor), and now the three were in a Crime Lab Hummer driving towards some of the most expensive houses in Miami. 

They pulled up to a guarded house, and whilst Horatio dealt with Cheryl turned to Speed, both of whom were sat in the back. 'Sorry if I got stressy with you earlier… I'm a little…'

'Stressed?' Smiled Speed.

'Something like that.' She glanced out of the window at the driveway they were driving up.

'Must be nice to have this much money, eh?' Asked Speed, watching her look in amazement at the immaculate gardens.

'Are you kidding? This would be my idea of hell. It would get so boring, could you imagine having this much money, but having to pay someone to be your gardener. And bodyguards?' Cheryl shuddered, 'I would hate the trapped feeling with a passion. No, give me a firehouse to convert and I'd be happy.'

'A firehouse?' Said Horatio, tuning in on their conversation.

'Yeah, my cars below me in a garage which would be big enough to hold them, and work on them. Me living above them, and a pole to have fun with as well.'

Speed laughed, 'strangely, I could see you living in something like that. But how many cars are you expecting to have?'

'Just one more, but I might have to get my car from New York at some point.'

'You have two cars?' Asked Horatio.

'No, I have three, if you could call a Hummer a _car_. Which is why I would need a big space for them to fit in.'

'I'm not going to ask,' said Horatio.

After a drive up, what Cheryl guessed had to be, the longest driveway in Miami, they had finally arrived at the house. The three got out and surveyed the immediate grounds. Off to one side, eight cars were lined up, ranging from overpriced SUVs to sports cars.

'Well, I guess I'm not the only one who likes cars, oh my,' Cheryl gasped, walking over to one, 'they have a TVR!'

'Well, it's reassuring to see what my taxes get spent on,' Speed grumbled.

'Cheryl, this is hardly the time to be looking at cars.' Reprimanded Horatio.

'Sorry,' apologised Cheryl, looking immediately guilty for being distracted from her job. She kicked herself mentally, angry for forgetting why she was here, before following her colleagues into the enormous house.

They were met by two men in suits and shades who led them through the house. 'Hey, Horatio, you should go out for drinks with these guys sometime. They wear their sunglasses inside too,' joked Cheryl.

Horatio merely raised an eyebrow, whilst Speed was desperately, and unsuccessfully, trying to turn a laugh into a cough.

Finally, they were led into a large study. The mayor was sat behind a desk, mulling over some paperwork, a large glass of whiskey next to him. 'Officers, how may I help you?' He asked, after the introductions had taken place.

'We have reason to believe that a car registered to your son may have been involved in an incident.' Said Horatio.

'What has he done this time,' sighed the Mayor.

'There was an RTA and one of our colleagues was involved,' said Cheryl.

'I'm sorry, an RTA?'

'A Road Traffic Accident. I'm sorry; I think that may be an English term coming through.'

The Mayor half smiled, 'and how is life across the pond?'

Cheryl looked confused, 'probably cold andraining. I don't know. I haven't been back there for a few years.'

'Sir,' interrupted Horatio, 'the vehicle in question was a Hummer. Do you know where your son is so that we may discuss this with him?'

'He's a student at UM. We don't see each other much these days, what with work.'

'I guess we're going to the University, then?'

'I'm afraid I cannot help you any further,' said the Mayor, 'I'm sorry about your colleague, but I'm quite sure my son has had nothing to do with this.'

'I hope that is the case.' Said Horatio, as he turned and left the room, Cheryl and Speed close behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The University of Miami was strangely busy for an evening, and parking would have been near on impossible, had they been students, but being as they weren't, they managed to park right underneath the dorm. Horatio stopped to talk to the staff in charge, whilst the other two CSIs made their way up the to the top floor of Eaton Hall

'Didn't Eric go to UM?' Asked Cheryl on their way up in the lift.

'Yes, he did,' said Speed, 'He did a B.S in Chemistry here.'

Cheryl looked down at the notebook she was holding, 'same degree as our suspect is doing. I wonder if they lived in the same building.'

'I don't know,' said Speed, as the exited onto into the hallway and walked to Michael's room. They knocked on the door several times, but no-one answered. 'Now what?'

'Well, if this place is anything like LSU…' started Cheryl. She moved to the next door and banged on it, 'there is always someone around.'

'Why hello there, sexy,' she was greeted with by the owner of the next room.

'Hi,' said Cheryl, flashing her badge.

'Oh, whoa, sorry,'

'No problem,' she said, putting her badge away, 'we're looking for Michael Rollins, any idea where he might be?'

'Nah, sorry, not seen him since this afternoon.'

'Okay, and you are?'

'Richard Price.'

'Well, Richard, if he does happen to appear, could you call me on this number?' She asked him, handing a card over to him. Richard took it, nodding his head.

'Hey, what's he-' he started to ask, but was stopped by the fire alarm going off. 'Not again. These things are always going off,' he grumbled as he was joined by the rest of the floor in heading towards the stairs.

'Guys,' I don't think this is a drill,' Speed shouted over the noise of the alarm, pointing to the smoke that was starting to come pouring out from underneath Michael's door. He went to try the handle, but Cheryl stopped him. 'Taking a bullet for you is one thing, but I am not about to burn to death for you!' She told him, dragging him away.

The two ran down the stairs, the last to exit the building, when, as they went to join Horatio, the top floor exploded. Cheryl flew to the floor, holding her hands over her head as bits of rubble began raining down on them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl was sat on a bench, watching a medic wrap a bandage around her waist, which had managed to be cut from a piece of falling glass. Around her, various students were being treated for various injuries.

Horatio, who had been talking with the Fire Chief, hurried over when he saw that she was done. 'How is she?' He asked the medic.

'Fine, but she should have a jab to protect from any infection.'

Horatio looked over at Cheryl, she was throwing her top into the trash can, and looked unusually calm, 'you didn't tell her that, did you.' It was a statement, not a question.

'Hell no! She's the one who knocked my partner out when he tried to give her a jab a while back. I'm not stupid.' Horatio suppressed a smile.

Cheryl was joined by Speed, and Calleigh, who had just arrived. 'A bikini?' Said Speed, after he had checked she was ok. He had a bandage wrapped around the top of his arm, also caused by falling debris.

Cheryl glared at him, 'I was enjoying a day off, before this happened. At what point do you think I have had time to change?'

'Hey, I'm not complaining. You should wear it to work more often'

'You are _so _lucky I promised my uncle that I would try and control my anger more,' Cheryl told him, through gritted teeth.

Speed turned to Calleigh and grinned, 'so how about it? Wear a bikini to work day?'

'Somehow, Speed,' said Horatio, as he came over and joined them, 'somehow, I don't think you would look very fetching in a bikini.' Calleigh and Cheryl burst out laughing. 'Speed, Calleigh, the fireman have just cleared the building for us,' he said, changing the subject, 'I want you two find out what happened up there.'

Speed stared up at the building, 'please tell me the lifts are working again,' he groaned.

Horatio shook his head.

'Come on,' said Calleigh, dragging Speed away, 'the exercise will do you good.'

Cheryl turned to Horatio, 'She seems chirpier. What happened?'

'The doctor called; Eric is in the safety zone now. He's still asleep, but he's going to be fine.'

'That's great news.' Cheryl let out a sigh of relief,'so, what do you want me to do?'

'I don't know, it depends on whether or not you have the injection the paramedic wants you to have.'

The colour fell from Cheryl's face faster than the speed of a bullet. 'You are going to have to suspend me before I take that.'

'Relax, I'm not going to make you. It just means you aren't going up there. We don't know what happened and I'm not risking your wound becoming infected. It does mean, however, that you are going to have to walk around the parking lots and see if you can locate the Hummer.'

'That, I can-'

She was interrupted by Horatio's phone. 'Caine… yes…yes… I'll be right there.' He shut his phone and looked at Cheryl, 'I don't think the Hummer will be found here,' he said, 'that was the mayor.'

Cheryl looked expectantly up at him.

'It would appear we are dealing with a kidnapping.'

* * *

**Firstly, thank you so much for reading, and reviewing! You have no idea how much that makes me smile (simple things, simple minds... lol)! All your comments have been much appreciated.**

**I was asked what an RTA was, and I hoped i managed to fit that into the story ok.(In case you missed it, and RTA is a Road Traffic Accident.)**

**I try to post every few days (on the belief that if you are anything like me, when you start reading something you like, you want to keep reading) but in this case, for those of you who are enjoying this, the wait is going to be a little longer this time. I _am _off to Texas tomorrow, and I don't know when I'll be able to update again, until at least the middle of next week. But don't worry, I'm always thinking of this fic in my head.**

**As i think I mentioned at the beginning of my first part, this 'series' is going to go to Vegas, and eventually New York, (in a nice big crossover!) I'm just having too much fun picturing things in the other cities, and with the other characters... but that's a little while off yet. I just thought I'd let you know where I'm going with this. :s**

**But anyways, thanks again for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so this took a little longer to post than expected. It's slightly longer than normal (I hope that makes up for it!) I hope you like it!**

* * *

'Why can't we possibly have a nice case?' Grumbled Cheryl. She and Horatio were on their way back to the Mayor's house, although making a slight detour so that Cheryl could pick up her Hummer which was still where it had been left earlier that evening when she had attended the RTA.

'Define a nice case.'

'One with no blood, death, violence, nasty scenes, children, or rape.'

Horatio glanced over at her from behind the steering wheel, 'and what would that leave us with.'

Cheryl thought about it, then smiled, 'with a lot more free time.' She jumped out of the Hummer, which had pulled up alongside hers, 'okay, so it's never going to happen,' she said, through the open door, 'see you in a minute,' she told him as she slammed the door shut and ran over to her own car. She jumped in, fired it up, and took off after Horatio, soon catching him up.

They pulled up together outside the gates, which Horatio cleared them both through, although Cheryl held her badge up for good measure, before they took the long drive up the driveway. She pulled to a stop alongside the other Hummer, and jumped out, casting a quick look at the TVR, before joining Horatio at the front door. 'Where are all the squad cars?' She asked, only seeing the one she recognised as what Yelina drove, and that wasn't a black and white.

Horatio was prevented from answering by the door opening and one of the guys in shades leading them back to the Mayor's study. The scene here was very different to what it had been earlier in the day. The Mayor's wife was sat sobbing on the sofa, whilst the Mayor was pacing up and down the room, cell phone in hand, shouting a mixture of commands and obscenities into the mouth piece. Horatio cleared his throat and the Mayor ended his phone call. 'Where is my son?'

'That is what we are trying to find out, sir.' Horatio said. 'How do you know he has been kidnapped?'

'I was given this,' wailed the Mayor's wife, holding out a sheet of paper with letters stuck on.

Horatio took it off her, using glove to hold the corner, 'Have you called your son recently?' He read out loud.

'Where did this come from, Mrs Rollins?' Asked Cheryl after she had taken the note of Horatio and bagged it.

Mrs Rollins looked at her, a strange expression upon her face, 'the maid bought it in for me.'

'It was sent up from the gates. The maid's clear,' said Yelina, appearing from behind. 'I'm having the guards pull the surveillance tapes and send them over to the lab now.'

'Have you tried ringing your son?' Cheryl asked the mayor, thinking about what the message meant.

The Mayor nodded, 'of course I have,' he pressed a couple of buttons on his phone, Cheryl noted them down, and it began dialling on speakerphone.

'_You have reached to phone of Michael Rollins. He can't come to the phone right now, because he is a little tied up. Literally. If you want to see him alive, I want $6 million in unmarked bills. Do not involve the police, or I will kill him. You will be contacted at 10pm sharp.'_

Cheryl looked at her watch. It was 7pm. 'Well, that's a good sign,' she said, 'it mean's that he's still alive.' For now, she added silently.

'Okay,' said the mayor, 'I humoured you earlier, but who are you?'

'Detective Cheryl Carter, CSI 3, Miami Dade Crime Lab.'

The mayor turned to Horatio, 'do you not think this case deserves someone a little more qualified than a kid?'

'Cheryl is more than capable of doing this job. If anything were ever to happen to me, I would want her on the case.' Said Horatio.

'I may be young, but I know what I'm doing.' Cheryl agreed.

'Then why, pray tell, are you stood in a bikini?

'Cheryl and I entered this case on our day off. Unfortunately Cheryl here happened to have been at the beach when we got the call.'

'You weren't wearing that earlier.'

'No, but earlier, I hadn't been involved in an explosion, my stomach cut, and my other top ruined. And I came straight here rather than waste time and get changed.'

'An explosion?' Exclaimed Mrs Rollins.

'There was a fire in your son's building, a little earlier this evening. It resulted in an explosion in the building. My team is investigating the causes as we speak.' Horatio explained to the worried parents. 'I can confirm that that everyone managed to evacuate the building, and according to the fire chief, there was no one in the building.'

I want your full attention on this, Lieutenant,' said the Mayor. 'We will have the money ready for 10. We want him back.'

'I thought it was policy not to give into the kidnappers demands.' Muttered Cheryl.

The Mayor slammed his phone into its holder, 'and what would a child know about these policies?'

Cheryl turned to Horatio, trying to keep her voice even, 'I am going back to the lab,' she told him through gritted teeth, 'and I am going to run the answer phone message with Dan. And then I am going to process this letter.' She turned and stormed out of the house before she another word could be said.

She jumped into her Hummer and squealed off down the drive, barely slowing for the guarded gates. She sped all the way back to the lab, well aware that she was not setting a suitable example for a member of law enforcement. Normally, driving, especially driving fast, put her in an instant good mood. However, thirty minutes later, she was still slamming doors, storming down corridors and not apologising to anyone she accidentally walked into.

She went into the AV lab, and smacked her phone and notebook onto the table. Dan, who had entered just behind her, stopped, and backed out of the door, heading as quickly as he could in the opposite direction. Not even the temptation of Cheryl in a bikini was enough to keep him there. He had sisters and he knew what _they_ were like when they were angry.

Cheryl didn't notice that Dan had been and left. Instead, she assumed he was hiding somewhere, playing on his new PSP, like she had caught him doing only a few days earlier. She rammed her phone into the lead attached to the computers, clicked a few buttons and waited for the programme to boot up.

Whilst it was, she walked over to the CD player and pressed play, hoping some music would calm her down. If driving didn't help, singing would. In this case it put her in a worse mood. Blasting out of the speakers was Coldplay. She despised Coldplay. Cheryl smacked her thumb against the eject button, almost sending the CD player flying, before wrenching the disc out of the drive. She snapped into as many small pieces as she could before flinging them on the floor.

The computer beeped, signalling the programme had loaded, so Cheryl headed back to the computer and sat down in front of it. She dialled the number, loaded it into the computer and set the message on repeat and sat with her head in her hands, listening to the message.

She was about thirty seconds away from repeatedly slamming her head against the computer desk, when someone entered the lab behind her, and put their ands on her shoulders, starting to massage them.

'So, um, H called me,' Cheryl tensed up at mention of her uncle, 'he said you were a little stressed about something, and that when I was to get back to the lab I was to check on you. Although judging from the knots in your shoulders, and the trail of destruction from the door to here, I'd say you were a bit more than "a little" stressed.'

'I have had it with people judging me over my age.' She cried,'I have had enough of it. It's bad enough I get ID everywhere I go, and that I can still get into many places at a child price. But to have someone assume I am incompetent at my job is insulting. They may as well be suggesting I only got my job by sleeping with my boss.' She shuddered violently. 'Okay, that is just sick and wrong.' She picked her notebook up and hurled it onto the floor, crying out in frustration.

'You know,' said Speed, kneading her back, his hands nice and cool in contrast to her hot back, 'you would look a bit older if you let your hair down, instead of keeping it scraped back.'

'Yeah, and that's one fast way to contaminate a crime scene.'

'So, tie it up at a crime scene, and when you're processing evidence, but leave it down when you're not. I've only ever seen you wear it up, even when we've done things out of work. You look really nice with it down. And,' he added, 'turning up to see the mayor with a bikini on is hardly going to help the situation.'

Cheryl got up and pushed him, 'hey, I came straight here from the beach, on my day off, might I add. _And_, for the record, I did have another top on earlier. It just happened to get destroyed in the explosion.'

Speedle held his hands up, 'trust me, I am not complaining about your wardrobe. I've already told you, you should wear it to work more often.' He told her with a small smile on his face.

Cheryl sighed and turned back to the computer, leaning against the desk with both hands. 'Did Horatio really say I was a little stressed?'

'Well, his exact words were more like, "check on Cheryl when you get back. She left here upset and I don't need her destroying my lab," or something like that.' He looked at the pieces of broken disc on floor. 'Looks like I didn't get here quick enough.' He bent over and looked at the fragments. 'Is this Dan's Coldplay CD?' Cheryl nodded. 'He is going to kill you.'

'Well, it serves him right for having no taste in music.'

'This coming from the girl who I caught singing along to the Spice Girls the other day.'

'I thought you were here to help. You're not.'

'You mean my massage didn't relax you?'

Cheryl said nothing.

'Well, maybe this will help.'

Cheryl turned around to see what he was going to try this time. He leant over and kissed her.

* * *

**Thank you for all the reads and reviews! It's nice to know this is being read _and _enjoyed, so I'm just going to keep on writing. Who knows, maybe I'll get hired by the CSI crew to write episodes... okay, I can dream, can't I? lol**

**So, my intention is to try and have the next part up by Sunday, but in the mean time... let me know what you think! It's always much appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

'Okay, wise-guy. That worked a little, so I'll let you have that one.' Sighed Cheryl, as she pulled away. 'But don't go trying that again.'

Speed smirked. 'Glad I could help.'

Cheryl sat back down, slightly calmer and stared at the voice readings on the screen.

'What have you got?' Asked Speed, pulling up a chair next to her.

'Shouldn't you be working on that explosion?'

'We have. The explosion was because of a gas leak.'

'A gas leak? Since when would there be a gas leak in a student dorm?'

'When the student has a canister for his own personal science experiments.'

Cheryl frowned, 'so what caused the spark?'

'According to trace, xylene, or more specifically, meta-xylene.'

'Are you serious?'

'It's amazing what chemistry students can get their hands on.'

'But what causedthe xylenetospark?'

'It looks like it was left on a radiator.'

'A radiator? Which was on? In a Floridian summer?'

'Yeah, we're thinking foul play too.'

'I should think so. Not only is Xylene flammable, but what is it doing on a radiator? A chemistry student should know better.'

'We found the remains of the bottle it was kept in and managed to get a good print off it. Calleigh is running it now.' Speed pointed to the screen, 'so,' he said, 'what are you working on?'

Cheryl frowned at the screen. 'It's the voicemail of Michael Rollins. The voice isn't disguised, but that means nothing without a comparison. And I can't get anything off it, other than the stupid static in the background,' she told him, turning the volume up.

'Remove the voice, and isolate the buzzing.' Said Speed. Cheryl did as he said, and they were left with a monotonous buzzing. 'Sounds like it was recorded near an electrical generator, or something like that.'

'A generator? In Miami? That's going to be easy to find.'

'I think your sarcasm is rubbing off on Cheryl, Speed,' said Dan from the doorway. 'Although I am glad to see that you are in a slightly better mood.' He started to enter the room, and then stopped, 'what's that?' He asked, pointing at the shattered CD floor.

Cheryl flushed bright red, 'um, well.' She was feeling incredibly guilty. Not because it was a Coldplay CD, but because it was Dan's.

'Is that X&Y?' A look of alarm, followed quickly by anger flashed over Dan's face.

'I'm sorry; I'll buy you a replacement!' Cheryl grabbed her phone, and notebook from the floor, and hurried out of the lab, before Dan could pick up one of the computers and throw it at her.

'You'd better!' He yelled after her.

'I am so destructive when I'm angry,' Cheryl told Speed, who had followed her out.

'You think?' They both headed into the trace lab and pulled on some lab coats. 'So, what now?' Asked Speedle, as he watched Cheryl pull out something from her pocket.

'This is the note sent to Michael's parents. Let's see if the kidnapper left anything.'

Speed nodded, 'Okay, I'll run the glue, see if that gives us anything,' he told her, using a pair or tweezers to ease one of the letters off.

'I'll analyse the paper, then.' She told him, as he walked over to the other side of the lab and began to work. Cheryl cut out a piece of paper and placed it into a test tube, before putting the paper into a glass case to allow the cyanoacrylate fuming process to run whilst she began the paper analysis.

A few hours later, and both Cheryl and Speed were about to compare results, when Calleigh walked into the lab. 'Hey y'all,' she greeted them, 'Do y'all have anything?' She asked them, as she sat down, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

'The glue came back as your every day superglue,' said Speed, 'but it had traces of magnesium in it.'

'Magnesium? That's an interesting ingredient.'

'I'm thinking transfer,' said Speed.

'Mmmm,' agreed Cheryl.

Calleigh nodded, 'maybe not. I ran the prints. They came back to Michael's chemistry teacher. UM check all their teachers before they are hired. I sent PD around to talk, but I think I may go myself.' Ring me if you find out anything new,' she told them, and bounded out of the lab.

'What did you get?' Asked Speed.

'Strangely, there were traces of plutonium on the paper. Everything else is running through the computers.'

Speed looked at her. 'The humming makes sense, now.'

'Sorry?'

'In the background of the voicemail. It was made near the power plant.'

'So we have a location.' The computers started beeping at her. 'Seems we have something else, too.' She walked over to the first computer. 'The letters in the letter came from Helvetica Chimica Acta, which is a Chemistry publication, by the looks of things.' She pulled up the other window. 'And we have a hit on the fingerprint I found on the letter. It's,' she looked up at Speed and smiled, 'Stuart Pinkels. This is also hitting a match to the print Calleigh just ran. Do you want to ring Calleigh and let her know, whilst I run and grab a top of some description, and I'll meet you outside by my Hummer?'

She didn't give him any chance to answer, before she tore out of the lab and to the locker room.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Twenty minutes later and Cheryl was racing down the streets in her car, wearing a black sweater she had found in the bottom of her locker. Speed hung up the phone. He'd just called Horatio to update him on the situation.

'He's having a hard time trying to convince the Rollins's not to go do something stupid.'

'He's not telling us to wait for him?' Asked Cheryl, quickly switching her attention from the road to him.

'No, he thinks we can handle it. Will you watch where you are going!' He shrieked at her, clutching at the support above the door.

Cheryl rolled her eyes and turned back to the road. Before long, they were pulling into the power plant. Cheryl followed the road around to the back, sure that if the Hummer was going to be anywhere, it would be where there where very few people would be around. Sure enough, hidden behind a cooling tower, was the abandoned Hummer. She pulled up a few metres down the road, and the two CSIs got out of the car, their guns drawn.

'Miami Dade Police!' Shouted Speed.

Nothing. The two worked their way to the car slowly, their guns still out. Speed pushed forward and opened the door. The car was empty.

'I suppose that shouldn't surprise us,' said Cheryl, as the two put their guns away. Cheryl went back to her Hummer to pull out her kit, whilst Speed called in for a tow truck.

'It's a busy night,' he told her, when she returned, 'they're going to be a while.'

'It's okay, we can get going and process as much as possible.' She looked at her watch. It was coming up for nine. 'We don't have much time left.' She knelt down and opened her kit. Several of her glass collection containers had broken. 'Crap.'

'What did you do to your kit?' Speed lent over and grabbed a pair of gloves.

'Dropped it earlier. Someone must have put it in my trunk for me.'

She pulled out a pair of gloves herself and grabbed her torch. 'You take the inside, I'll do out?'

Speed nodded and jumped in the passenger side, and started by pulling a hair from the headrest and putting it into an evidence bag. Cheryl worked her way to the front passenger side, and started taking photos of the damage the Hummer had incurred when it had run Eric off the road earlier. After collecting some paint transfer, she turned her attention to the wheels. There was sand and something salt-like stuck in the tire treads. She photographed it, and took a sample. And then she moved onto the ground nearby.

On the floor, her torch picked up a ring. She walked over to it and picked it up. It was definitely a man's ring, gold, thick and set with a red stone, most likely a ruby. She slipped it into another evidence bag, before turning her attention to the tire treads left in the dirt road.

Following procedure, she lay down the measure guide and took some photos, all the while, sure that the worn treads belonged to a Volvo. An old one, judging from the worn pattern.

She headed back to her car and put the evidence in the trunk, along with her kit, before starting to return to the car to help Speed finish up. She had barely gone a few steps before Speed was running towards her, tackling her to the ground.

'What the hell-'

The hummer exploded.

* * *

**Well, thank you for continuing to read this. I hope you are enjoying reading as much as I am writing! **

**I'm going to go write the next chapter now - i hope to have it up as soon as possible. Thank you for all the reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just to clarify, in case I hadn't made it clear, CSI is mine, all mine! On a more serious note, Cheryl is mine, all mine, and I am nothing but a poor student who spends more time watching CSI than studying. **

**But if I did own it, rest assured Speed would have woken up from a bad dream, Dallas-style, and he would still be in CSI Miami!**

* * *

Cheryl slowly pulled herself to a sitting position, mimicking the groaning that was escaping Speed.

'I believe that makes us even on the life-saving front,' grunted Speed.

'Actually, I'm still one up one you,' said Cheryl, as she watched the Hummer burn.

'Small technicality,' said Speed. He got up and offered a hand to Cheryl.

Cheryl took it and stood next to him, aware of a graze on her face, and another top that was ruined. 'My clothing allowance has taken a severe beating today,' she grumbled, tugging at another hole. She turned her attention back to the Hummer.

'I hope I got all the evidence out of it.'

'Have we lost any of it?'

Speedle examined the bags. 'I think they are all okay.'

'So, are you calling Horatio to tell him the crime scene exploded?'

'Me?' You're his niece.'

'Exactly.'

'Fine,' she muttered, pulling out her phone. The screen was cracked, and it didn't want to dial. 'Give me yours,' she told Speed. 'For once, I'd like a day where me and my belongings could remain in one piece.' Speed pulled his out and handed it over. It wasn't working either.

'You take the evidence and get back to the lab.'

'What about you?' Cheryl asked him.

'I'll wait for the tow truck. It's not going to be long, but it's valuable time needed for that evidence to be processed. And you need that cut looking at.' He explained, pointing at her stomach. 'Get back, hand the evidence over, and then get a doctor to look at you.'

Cheryl looked down at the black material and put her hand over her wound. Removing it left her blood on her hand. She winced and pulled up her top, the blood was soaking through her bandage. She nodded and headed towards her Hummer, taking the evidence Speed had collected with her.

Speed followed her over, 'go straight back to the lab, and don't do anything stupid,' he told her, leaning over and giving her a quick kiss. Cheryl managed a small smile.

'Tim, this is stupid. Come back with me. We need everybody to work on this, and you staying out here is wasting a perfectly good person. The tow truck will know where to go. They'll be our here with some rookies. There is nothing more we can do here.'

Speed nodded and got in the car next to her. 'You're right,' he told her, as they drove off.

- - - - - - - -

The red showed no indication of changing to green any time soon. Cheryl considered putting her lights on, but technically, there was no just cause to do so. She stopped drumming her fingers on her steering wheel and turned to the evidence Speed was looking at next to her. It was a piece of paper with a giant wave on it. It looked suspiciously familiar. Racking her brain, she remembered where she had seen it last.

It was the logo of one of the shops near the pier where she had eaten earlier with Horatio. It was a shop she'd been to many a time. It sold various chemicals, elements and compounds, amongst other things. Other things which would make a bomb.

She turned to her computer and ran a search of Crest Chemicals, the shop the logo belonged to, and cross referenced it with UM and Stuart Pinkels. She had, at some not too distant point in the past, uploaded CODIS, AFIS, IBIS, NCIC, SLIP, and all the other programmes that were accessible in the other Crime Lab Hummers, being as she used her own Hummer. (Admittedly, it had come with the annoying condition that she had to have Miami Dade Police Department logo and details painted across the Hummer's side.)

'How did you know that?' Speed asked her as he watched her work.

'I shop there.'

'Why do you need chemicals?'

'It was for the procedure I was working on,' she told him, as they waited for a result. 'Although GSR is pretty much the same, each gun will alter it slightly, and differently, in every gun it's used. The GSR reacts differently to certain chemicals depending on the bullet calibre. The bigger the bullet, the higher the burn, and the easier it is to match it to the gun. I'm surprised no one figured the process out sooner.'

'And you actually got it to work?'

'Yeah, it's being clarified now. I had Calleigh run it before I sent it off. She agreed to do a video for me. Her reputation as being one of the best in ballistics gives me a little credibility too.'

'No wonder Horatio is proud of you.'

Cheryl sighed, 'I didn't do it for his approval. I did it because it needed doing. Besides, I got to hide in the lab.'

'Why did you need to hide in the lab?'

The computer beeped at her. There was a link, albeit, a small one. UM had an account with Crest Chemicals. She couldn't see how much was spent there, by whom, or on what. And it was entirely likely that this was an 'emergency' supplier, being as the University would have its main supplier as a larger, government approved company. But it was worth a shot.

'Lets go there,' said Speed, not forgetting that Cheryl hadn't answered his question.

Cheryl drummed her fingers for a little longer, until, finally, the light turned green. She pulled away, changing their destination to the beach, well aware that Speed was not going to forget the question.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The pier was deserted. There wasn't even any gulls in sight. Cheryl felt like she had stepped into some horror movie.She and Speedle pulled out their guns for the second time that evening, and headed to the store. She headed to the front, whilst Speed took off to the back. The door was locked and showed no signs of being tampered with. She peered through the window and the metal grill. It didn't look like there was anyone else there. Cheryl headed around the back, her gun still drawn. In the yard, there was a Volvo, and upon closer inspection, had traces of sand in the treads.

She headed over to Speed who was trying the back door. It hadn't been touched either. 'Hmmm,' she mused. 'I guess we were wrong, she said. They were both close to heading back to her Hummer, convinced they had it wrong, and go get the evidence processed. She glanced at her watch. It was a little after ten. Surely if Michael was being held here, the phone call from the kidnapper would have told them where to find him, and the police would be swarming the area. Speed was thinking the same thing.

'If he was here, there would be more action. Let's head to the lab and see what else we can get before we waste any more time.'

They turned to leave, but stopped at an unfamiliar noise. It sounded like it was coming from underneath her. She headed behind the car, and to the wall. Speed was close behind. Peering over it, she saw that she was above the sea and the beach. It was probably nothing, and a waste of time, but she couldn't just leave. Just in case it was something.

She headed off to one side following Speed down some steps to the beach. Or what was left of it – the tide was almost all the way up. She padded softly over the sand, still close behind Speed, to what looked like a storage area under the store. It had metal fences running along it and into the sea, but the lock was lying on the floor in two pieces, and the gate was ajar. 'Figures,' she muttered, pulling out her gun back out, Speed mimicking her.

She headed through the gates and underneath the store, taking the lead. It was very dark, and she couldn't see too much, other than a light ahead. She headed towards it, keeping low and crouched to the floor, behind the various crates and boxes.

In the light, there were two men arguing, but Cheryl couldn't hear them well enough. She turned to Speed, 'what should we do?'

He never got the chance to answer. Speed's trademark dance jingle ring tone went off. She looked Speed in alarm. 'I thought it wasn't working.' He whispered urgently.

Cheryl fumbled in her pockets, trying to locate the phone. The two men had stopped arguing and were looking at each other. Speed grabbed her badge and flung it in the sand, burying it. 'What are you doing?' She whispered furiously, trying to reach over for it, whilst pulling her phone out of her pocket.

'Cheryl, there is evidence that there is more than two people in on this. We have no chance of getting out of here now, and we have no back up. We are going to have to try something different.' He grabbed the phone, answered it, and put it to one side, leaving whoever was ringing listening on the other end. He reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

'Tim, that doesn't work!' Speed just held on to it and moved closer, 'Timothy Speedle, if you are about to what I think you are about to do! We need to get out of here!'

'We can't, there's someone behind us. Act your age.' He clamped his lips down on hers, pushing her to the ground.

Behind them, the safety of a gun was clicked off.

* * *

**Hey y'all, i wasn't sure where this chapter was going. I was distracted by writing later stories... Let me know what you think. My friend said it was fine, but I'm not sure!**

**I promise in the next chapter we'll be seeing more of the others!Hope you liked it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, here's the 7th chapter for y'all. I upped the rating on this because of this chapter (let me know if it needs altering further, or can be lowered) not for the cursing - I tried to keep it to a minimum. But there's a bit of violence in here (apologies now to all you Speed fans out there!)**

_

* * *

_

_Act my age?_ _What the hell was that supposed to mean?_ She thought as Speed was wrenched of her, and flung to one side. One of the men was holding a gun at his head, whilst the other was busy yanking Cheryl to her feet, by her hair, also whilst holding a gun to her head. Cheryl let out a small yelp in pain.

'What the hell have we got here?' Snarled the man who had Cheryl. His stubbly face was inches from hers, and his breath didn't smell particularly fresh.

'Don't hurt her,' cried Speed.

'I smell cops,' said the other man, knocking the butt of his gun against Speed's head.

'Leave him alone,' shouted Cheryl, as Speed gasped in pain. 'We're not cops!'

'You look very cop-like to me.' The first man sneered.

'Do I really look old enough to be a cop?' She whimpered, as the man yanked on her hair again.

'You might not look old enough, but he sure as hell does.' The second man said, throwing in a kick as Speed, for good measure. 'Where's the cell phone?'

'It's in her pocket,' grunted Speed.

'Tim! That's-'

'That's what?' Asked the man who was holding her down, as he looked through her pockets, locating her broken cell.

'That's just died. The battery died. It's why we didn't answer it.' Speed quickly said, covering the fact it wasn't working, nor the right phone.

'So, we have a wise-guy here?' The second man said, kicking Speed, again.

'Will you stop doing that, you ass hole!'

'Now where did a pretty mouth like this, learn a nasty word like that?' The first man let go of Cheryl's hair, only to grab her face with the same hand instead.

'Look,' gasped Speed, spitting out blood, 'we just wanted some privacy, so we decided to come down here, under the pier,' he said, talking a little louder than was necessary.

'Just let us go, we won't tell anyone!' Cried Cheryl, trying out a line she heard everyone try on any form of television show.

'Like hell you won't!' The man holding her said. Clearly he'd seen the same programs. He pushed her to the ground and held her down, his hand on her throat, whilst he climbed on her. 'Hey Pete, do you think that her boyfriend would mind if I had a go?'

Cheryl's eyes widened in alarm, surely he wasn't even considering what she thought he was considering. 'Knock it off, Carl, Stuart will be back with the money soon.'

'And your point is?' Snarled Carl, 'we aren't going to let them live, so why can't I, why can't _we_, have some fun first?'

Cheryl struggled under him. If this was about to go south, she sure as hell wasn't going to just sit back and let it happen. She was going to take some DNA from him in the process. She wriggled her hand free and swiped at his face leaving two scratch marks down his cheek. Unsurprisingly, Carl wasn't happy with this move, and smacked her in the side of the head with the butt off his gun.

'Do that again, bitch, and it'll be the other end of the gun that gets used.'

Cheryl slumped back down, seeing white spots dance across her line of vision. Across from her, Speed wasn't faring so well either. After seeing Carl attempt to try something, he started struggling with Pete. And unfortunately for Speed, Pete was in a better position to get some good punches and kicks in. There was blood flying everywhere, and other than a few drops from abrasions from Pete's fists, the majority of it belonged to Speed. After a final kick to the stomach, Speed slumped to the floor, spitting more blood.

Cheryl stared up at Carl, her eyes slowly regaining focus on his stubble, 'if you're going to kill us, at least let me know what you did that we can't go. It just looked like an argument.'

He clearly hadn't seen the same shows as her on this point, 'Put it this way, pretty, you're about to join a friend out there,' he whispered in her ear, pointing out to sea, under the pier, 'and the little fishes.'

'I can't swim,' gasped Cheryl. Not true. She was a good swimmer. But he didn't need to know that.

'That's the whole point,' he sneered. 'God, what do they teach you kids in school, these days?'

'Look,' spluttered Speed, 'she's a tourist. From England. She's going back in a few days. Just let her go. She doesn't know anything.'

'Pete, these two are beginning to piss me off,' said Carl, cocking his gun, 'let's just shoot them now and get it over and done with.'

'Stuart's already told us about this. They can trace the guns back to us.'

'That's right.' A third voice entered the equation. Cheryl looked across. It was Stuart Pinkels, the chemistry professor. Except Cheryl recognized him as Richard Price, Michael's roommate.

Looking over at him, she was surprised she hadn't noticed how old he actually looked in the university accommodation. Mind you, she barely passed as adult some days, so she shouldn't be surprised that someone else could do the same. That, and a shave and he didn't look anything like the picture on his driving lisence.

'And those are two cops you have there.' He said, recognizing both of them, despite the blood which was covering both Cheryl's and Speedle's face. He swore loudly. 'Why can't you two do something right, for once. The drop worked. We were going to get out of this, with the money, and now you had to bring the pigs into it?'

Pigs. Charming. 'Okay, so we are police,' said Tim, 'but so far, you don't have assaulting an officer, or even killing one, against you. You can walk away from this now.'

'Do I look like I'm stupid,' sneered Stuart. 'There is no way we are going to be able to walk away from this as it stands. But, if we eliminate the witnesses…'

'You can't kill someone without leaving evidence behind.' Cried Cheryl. Things were going wrong, very quickly.

'No, but you can kill someone and dispose of the bodies. And if you can't find the bodies, then you can't be accused of murder.'

'No, but like you said, we're police officers, and it's not going to be long until they start looking for us!'

'I guess we'd better get a move on then, before we're found.' Stuart nodded at the two men, both of removed their safeties and pushed the butts of their guns into both Cheryl and Speed's head. Cheryl shut her eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A gunshot echoed around the underneath of the pier. Cheryl's eyes shot open – Speed. But he was still alive, looking at her, as though he expected her to be dead. Before Cheryl could process anything else, a second gun was fired and something wet splashed over her face. Carl, who had his gun pointed to her head, dropped to floor, the gun landing beside him.

Stuart, who, so far, had not been shot at, dove to Cheryl, picking Carl's gun up and aiming it at Cheryl, put her between him and the people shooting at them.

'Let her go, Stuart, you have no where to go!' The voice belonged to Horatio, who was stood holding a gun at them, Calleigh stood next to her, her gun switching from being aimed at Stuart, to Pete, who was groaning on the floor next to Speedle.

'I'm not letting anyone go. I'm going to get out of here alive, and if it means taking her with me, then God Damnit, I'm taking her with me!' he pressed the gun barrel into the side of Cheryl's head.

'The only way you are getting out of this alive, Stuart,' said Horatio, somewhat calmer than Cheryl would have expected him to be, 'the only way, is if you let her go.'

Stuart began dragging Cheryl backwards over the sand. 'I'm the one who's in charge here. Not you.'

'Can we not just talk about this like reasonable adults?' Pleaded Cheryl.

'How do you expect to get out of here if your hostage is dead?' Asked Speed, who had grabbed the other gun, and now had it trained on Cheryl.

'Timothy!' Cried Cheryl.

'You wouldn't shoot her.' Said Stuart, his attention shifting between Horatio and Speed.

'No,' said Calleigh, 'but I would.' Her gun went off. It was almost as if the events were unfolding in slow motion. Calleigh pulled the trigger, the bullet shot towards them, Cheryl cried out in pain as the bullet hit her shoulder, leaving a burning sensation tearing through her flesh as it exited and hit Stuart behind her. He dropped to the floor, but not before he fired his gun. It went through Cheryl's flesh, just to the left of the other bullet. She dropped to the ground beside him, in surprise, her face showing nothing but pain.

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading - it makes me happy! Make me happier and leave a review? Purty pwease! No who can resist baby talk? lol**

**Updates coming as soon as!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it's been a while for an update. I went home over Christmas (back to England) and was supposed to be back in Lousiana by now. Instead, I end up in hospital having surgery. I'm fine now, but my flight has had to be delayed - by nearly a month sob>. The good news(!), is, being in hospital has given me far too much time and I have ended up writing... a lot.**

* * *

In the space of only a few seconds, Cheryl had learnt a lot about her colleagues, including that they were prepared to shoot her. And in Calleigh's case, she actually had. Calleigh had shot her. Albeit through her arm, and not a major artery, but nevertheless, she had shot her. There were going to be words had when she could get her brain to register anything over than pain.

She clutched at her arm. She could feel her warm blood trickling through her fingers. She rolled over on to her side, spitting sand out of her mouth, as the CSIs ran over to her. Horatio was there first, scooping her up, so her heads was in his lap. 'Cheryl!'

Cheryl shut her eyes, trying to regain control over the pain she was feeling. But apparently, she wasn't allowed to do that: 'Cheryl, keep you eyes open,' cried Tim, shaking her gently.

'I'm fine,' she grumbled, glaring at him. She was not happy about being shot at. 'I just hurt a bit.' She was vaguely aware of Calleigh on her phone calling the EMS. They would be here soon. But it would be too late. 'It'll be too late,' she mumbled, trying to push herself to a sitting position.

'Too late for what?' Horatio asked her, trying to get her to lay back down.

'For Michael.'

Speeds expression clouded over, 'Michael?'

'I know where he is,' Cheryl said. She got to her feet, her pain temporarily forgotten about, grabbed a gun from Calleigh, and ran towards the water.

'What the hell are you doing?' Speed shouted after her, as she bounded into the water.

'Cheryl, get back here!' Horatio tried.

It was no use; her head was already under the surf. She swam out to the end of the pier and looked around in the direction of where Pete had been pointing a while ago. She could just make out the top of a head bobbing up and down in the waves. She headed over to it, ignoring the exhaustion that was slowly overcoming her, ignoring the pain she was feeling – from every single one of her muscles, which were telling her to go to the gym a bit more – to the bullet wounds that were, well, the phrase 'rubbing salt in the wound,' had sprung to mind, asthe sea water was having the same effect and it hurt like hell.

Finally, just as the waves completely submerged the head, she reached the last pier leg. Taking a deep breath, she dived under. He was still alive, blinking rapidly at her, as though trying to send a message. Clamping her mouth on his, she breathed out, giving him a couple of minute's oxygen, whilst she resurfaced, took another breath for herself, before diving back under. This time, she focused her attention to the knot which was tying Michael's ands to the other side of the post. She fired the gun at the knot. It got off one shot, fraying the knot slightly, before it stopped working. Cheryl threw it aside and resurfaced to get more air for Michael.

After getting some air for herself, she returned her attention to the knot, yanking and pulling at it until the fraying rope began to give way. She had no idea how long it took. But eventually, the rope broke free. Grabbing the body which was starting to sink, she pulled them both up to the surface and back to the shore.

Just as she couldn't find any more energy, two pairs of strong arms were helping. One set grabbing Michael off her, and pulling him onto the beach, beginning CPR on the unconscious body. The other was pulling her up from the shoulders, and half carrying her, half helping her walk up next to the others.

Cheryl collapsed onto the beach. She couldn't say anything, she was far too exhausted. She was vaguely aware of a blanket being wrapped around her, hearing sirens in the distance, and of the shouting she could hear on the beach. And then she wasn't.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheryl awoke some hours later, in a bright light. She groaned, and pulled herself into a sitting position, regretting it as she did, because she realized that every muscle was still aching and hurting. 'Hey, welcome back to the land of the living.'

Cheryl ignored the voice and gingerly opened her eyes. She was in hospital, as she suspected. She glanced down her arms, looking for any kind of needle. Somehow, there were none.

'Yeah,' chuckled the voice, 'H came in and told the doctors that unless you were about to die, they weren't supposed to put any needle in you, of any kind. Mentioned something about not needing the extra paper work either.'

Cheryl glanced over at her companion. 'How did I end up sharing a room with you? I thought the hospital had a policy whereby you couldn't share rooms with the opposite sex, or something.'

Eric grinned at her, 'blame H, again.'

'For someone who has been in a car wreck, you're awfully dapper.'

'Dapper?'

'Perky, happy. Far too happy,' she explained.

'Ah, that's because I get some much needed time off.'

'I give it a week, and you'll be bored, asking Horatio to come back to work early.'

Eric smiled, 'nah,' I'm going to spend it relaxing.'

Cheryl shook her head, 'what happened?' She asked, changing the subject.

'Some idiot in a Hummer ran me off the road.'

'No, I mean, with the kidnapping.'

'Oh, I don't really know. Calleigh started to tell me, but she got dragged off by IAB.'

'IAB?'

'Yeah,' said Eric, 'apparently, Calleigh shot you.'

Cheryl looked down at her bandaged shoulder. 'Apparently?'

'Yeah,' repeated Eric, 'apparently. It seems that the bullet was lost at sea. So was the gun. And as they don't have the best underwater recovery diver fully operational, they couldn't find it.'

'Oh, really?'

'But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?'

Cheryl grinned, 'What are you implying?'

Eric grinned back, 'I thought as much.'

'Are we interrupting anything?' Horatio was stood in the doorway with Speed.

'No, we were just discussing the merits of you having temporarily having lost two CSIs.

'Oh, you mean, my diver?' He smiled, 'yes, I can see the merits of that.'

'IAB are still going to want to talk to you.' Said Speed as he sat down next to Cheryl.

Cheryl shrugged. 'I've got nothing to hide. Except perhaps a phone bill, because I think I destroyed my third one, now. It's becoming pretty tiresome.' She sighed, 'so how's Michael?'

'Alive and well, thanks to you. The mayor is going to want to see you soon, to thank you himself.' Horatio told her.

'Oh, so _now_ he thinks I'm capable of doing my job.'

'Hey, H,' said Delko, 'how long am I going to have off?'

'For you,' said Horatio, 'for you, it will be too long.'

'Why is it you all think I don't want this time off?'

'Oh, it seems nice now, but you'll be bored.' Said Speed.

'I will not get bored!'

'You will.' Argued Speed, 'It's in your system to be doing something. That's why you're a CSI. It's why we're all CSIs.'

Cheryl laughed, 'that is so corny.'

'But it's also true,' said Horatio.

'Hey, Eric,' said Cheryl, turning to face him, 'are you sure they're got the right people in here?'

'I'm not sure,' replied Eric, 'because it seems like we weren't the only one who hit our heads.'

* * *

**Thank you for continuing to read. I'll be posting my next story, hopefully tomorrow - but dont hold me to that! Um, I think I called it Fame. I don't know... I just know I got carried away with writing.**

**Anyhoos, yeah, make my day - remember, I've been in hospital (sympathy vote, there!) and let me know what you think!**


End file.
